Dissonance
by A. R. Woodland
Summary: Sam Evans has just transferred to WMHS for his sophomore year. Caught between the differing personalities and affections of Blaine, Puck and Sebastian, all amongst the stress of high school, and the intricate web of relationships within the school's glee club, Sam's unsure of just where his affections belong...and who they belong to.
1. The New Guy

_Hey! I've never really written anything before, so if this sucks…just take that as an excuse! I don't own Glee or anything like that, and if you like the story, please leave a review! My thanks to my amazing boyfriend/beta reader, Wesz, and once again, I hope you guys enjoy!_

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If there is one thing that adults never seem to truly grasp, it's that transferring high schools is an extremely daunting prospect to a teenager, especially if that new school isn't just in a new town, but in a different state entirely. Sam Evans was used to a life in the suburbs of Nashville, and never once thought that he'd be looking up at the imposing façade of a high school in Lima, Ohio. His father had eagerly agreed to a transfer to a new sector of his company in the town, and Sam was powerless to argue. And now…here he was.

The boy gripped his backpack tighter, green eyes glancing at the steady influx of students into the gaping jaws of the school's entrance, Sam not knowing quite to expect. His old school had been pretty great, and the idea of starting out on the bottom rung of teenage society wasn't one that did much to excite Sam. Plus, he now had to deal with the mysteries of the girls he'd be surrounded by at all times. His old school had been purely for boys, and that was what Sam was used to. In fact, he wished that his parents would have moved to Westerville and not Lima. Sam had heard that there was an all-boys school there, too…not that he'd ever be able to afford the high costs that Dalton Academy asked for.

Breathing in deeply, Sam steeled himself, beginning the steady walk towards the doors of the school as the flow of students slowed. The blond wasn't eager to be tardy on his very first day, but he figured that he at least had an excuse. He didn't even know where his homeroom was, let alone anything else. Sure, they'd given him a map, but Sam didn't want to openly show everyone how new he was. Surely it was better to blend in for his first couple of days, and hope that none of the teachers called him to the front of the class to introduce himself. That was definitely something Sam wasn't cool with.

The boy passed through the doors, into the mouth of the beast, and hoped that the move wasn't one he'd grow to regret.

An hour or so later, and Sam was just another face in the crowd, sitting amidst his first sophomore math class, shoulders slightly shrunken. There hadn't been any introduction, thankfully, and apart from the glances of puzzled students that came his way, their faces showing their thoughts openly as they tried to conjure from their memory whether they'd seen this new blond before, it was a bit of an anti-climax. In fact, no one even introduced themselves to the new guy until the final few minutes of class started dwindling away. Sam had noticed that the guy to his left had been glancing over much more often than any of his fellow classmates, hazel eyes narrowing beneath dark eyebrows as the other boy reached over, tapping at Sam's elbow.

"Hey! Sorry, but…I've never seen you in class before. Are you new? I'm Blaine Anderson." Blaine smiled warmly, extending a hand to the slightly startled male before him, eyes glinting slightly in the dim light of the fluorescent bulb above them both; the weather outside was too overcast to offer much light from the glass panes lining the room. Blaine had been the new boy himself halfway through the previous year, when he'd transferred over from the very same Dalton Academy that Sam had heard about. Although he loved the school, it was the affections of a slick, handsome upperclassman that Blaine had encountered at his boxing class that drew him from the opulent confines of Dalton to the crowded halls of McKinley. The relationship may have fizzled out over the summer, but Blaine had opted to stick around at the school through his sophomore year.

Sam nodded once, eyes drifting down to the scarlet fabric of a bow tie adorning the other boy's neck, before he looked back up at Blaine's warm eyes and started to reply.

"Hey! Um, yeah. I'm Sam Evans. I just moved here from Nashville. Nice to meet you, dude." He reached out, taking the brunet's hand and giving it a tentative shake, not entirely sure whether to be firm or gentle in the approach of his hand.

"You too, Sam!" Blaine exclaimed, a toothy grin accompanying his welcoming words. "Welcome to McKinley! I transferred here myself halfway through last year, but not from as far away as you. I hope you're settling in well!" His enthusiasm was a little surprising, but Sam didn't mind. If anything, it was a little infectious.

"Oh, really? Awesome. I hate that I'm the new guy, you know? This is actually my first class." As he spoke, the bell rang sharply on the wall above him, the sound almost immediately accompanied by a cacophony of chatter, chairs scraping against the floor and books being shoved into bags. Blaine rose to his feet as Sam began to do the same, the smaller boy still smiling infectiously up at his fellow classmate as he began to head towards the classroom door; a fish caught up in the steady current of students heading in the same direction. Sam followed quickly behind him, as Blaine turned back to him, continuing the conversation.

"Well, everyone's the new guy at some point, Sam." Blaine mused. "I'm sure you'll fit in right away. My advice? Join some clubs, try out for some teams. It's a great way to meet new people." He nodded as if in agreement with his own words, glancing down at the pane of his wristwatch and back up at the blond. "What class do you have next, by the way?"

It took Sam a moment of rustling around in his bag for his timetable, the crumpled piece of paper tight in his hand as his eyes glanced over the class schedule written upon it. "I'm in Biology…I think. I hope I wrote these down in the right order. Um…which way is that?" Blaine laughed, pointing down the hall to their right.

"It's that way, Sam. I'm in Geography, which is down there." This cued another short nod, before Blaine once again extended his hand to the taller boy. "Good luck, Sam. I'll see you around." Sam took Blaine's hand, shaking it a little more firmly this time, the trepidation he felt before having ebbed away slightly while he chatted to the other guy.

"Thanks, Blaine. I appreciate it. And I'll keep in mind what you said about the clubs thing. Thanks again, dude!" Heading the way the other boy gestured, Sam let himself look around at the people around him. A blond, beautiful cheerleader was deep in conversation with another blond and a darker-haired girl, her eyes drawing upwards towards Sam as he walked past. He smiled slightly, trying not to let his gaze linger too long as he headed past, attention drawn to an Asian couple canoodling in front of the metal wall of lockers that lined the hallway, a short girl dragging a taller boy along the hall.

Sam moved aside to let them pass, slipping around another corner and exhaling a breath that he didn't realize he was holding when he saw that he was in what seemed to be the right place for his next class. He was checking his schedule for the scrawled handwriting that would reveal which room he was in, when he managed to walk directly into the path of another male, bodies colliding with an unexpectedness that drew a slight gasp from Sam's mouth. An angry, intimidating looking guy started across at the blond, eyes fiery and strong jaw set for a moment before he relaxed, his look of irate annoyance swiftly shifting to one of curiosity.

"I don't know you." Noah Puckerman spoke, with a bluntness that would foreshadow much of his character to the knowing individual. "Who are you, guy?"

Sam blinked, crumpling his schedule and slipping it into the pocket of his jeans, cheeks flushing slightly, the blond embarrassed and slightly aghast that he managed to cross someone so intimidating-looking in such a short time.

"Hey! I'm sorry, man. I'm Sam. It's kind of my first day…and I don't really know where I'm going." The larger boy's gaze softened at Sam's words, fists uncurling as a slight grin spread across his lips.

"Dude! Why didn't you say so? Name's Puck. I'm the awesome, badass football stud of this craphole of a school. Remember that name, dude." He raised his eyebrows for a moment, puffing out his chest. Sam nodded slowly as he grinned back, hands moving to grip the strap of his backpack as he tried not to look too awkward.

"Right. Badass, awesome football stud, huh? I'll try to remember that, Puck. Do you know where my Biology class is? It's like, Room 102 or something."

Puck shrugged, waving Sam's question away as he looked back at the blond. "No idea, dude. I don't go to Biology classes. But I'll see you around, bro." He clapped Sam on the shoulder, heading down the hallway with a confident strut as Sam continued on, quickly spotting the room he needed and slipping inside the door.

An hour later, and Sam was quickly adjusting to the atmosphere of McKinley, his Biology class passing without any incidents as he made a few more acquaintances amongst his classmates. Heading down the hall behind the gaggle of girls who'd been sat in front of him, the blond's eyes were drawn to the coloured papers strewn across a note board on a part of wall not occupied by the shining metal of the lockers, as most of the other such surfaces in the hallways seemed to be. He remembered Blaine's words from before, stopping for a moment to peruse the clubs and teams that the school had to offer him. Sam's eyes were drawn almost immediately to the football team try-outs, the boy fishing a pen from his bag and scrawling his name on the try-out form without any further thought. Eyes scanning through the other assortment of clubs, a couple caught Sam's eye, although for right and wrong reasons. He'd just passed over the celibacy club list, eyes settling on a few assorted names beneath a slip of paper advertising the glee club.

Sam did like to sing, but he'd never done it properly or anything and he'd never joined a club for it. It seemed interesting, but maybe just not for him. Sam shrugged, slipping the pen back into his pocket as he turned to leave, deciding to try out for just the football team for the moment. As he left, the blond failed to notice the tall, confident looking brunet leaning lazily against the wall opposite the noticeboard, eyes following the blond down the hallway. Sebastian Smythe chuckled softly to himself as he looked up at the noticeboard, his own name written eloquently towards the top of the glee club list as he slung his satchel over one shoulder, slipping into the ever-moving crowd of students roaming the school's halls.


	2. The Pamphlet

_Sorry this took so long! Wow, I suck. The updates from here out will **definitely **be a lot faster, and the story's going to start picking up speed quickly too, so thanks for staying with me...and thanks for the lovely reviews! Anyway, here we go..._

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It had been a full week since Sam Evans had first started at McKinley, and it had taken the boy very little time to adjust to the schedule and inner workings of the institution. He had started making friends among the students of the school, gradually learning faces enough to recognise certain individuals he passed in the hallways, or had classes with. One of the firmer friends Sam had made at McKinley was Blaine Anderson. Even though they were really only close enough to be counted as acquaintances, Sam saw something in Blaine that he liked. It always took the blond a little time to become comfortable enough in a new environment to make true friends, but every day he felt slightly closer to the shorter boy, with his warm eyes and bright smile, hair a constant shimmer in the fluorescent lights of the classroom.

Blaine felt the same about Sam, the blond intriguing the former. He always made sure to roll out the welcome wagon as had been done to him the previous school year when he himself had made the move, and Sam seemed like a really cool guy; one that Blaine definitely wanted to get close to. He didn't really have _that _many friends outside of the school's glee club, and was always eager to make more. The only thing that delayed Blaine slightly was that he wasn't sure how Sam felt about gay people. The blond had the build of a jock, and Blaine hadn't come to expect much from the other jocks around the school. Maybe Sam was different…but maybe he wasn't.

Sam left his Geography class that Monday morning, gravitating past the school noticeboard as he did so. It was a route that the blond would have found himself taking a lot, had he consciously realised that he was. Since first sifting through the club notices, Sam had set his eyes on the football team and not much else. His try-out was that very evening, and he felt ready…even if he didn't make the varsity team, he felt confident enough about the junior team. Football was a passion of his, one that he hoped to pursue more as he aged further.

As he looked away from the mess of papers and scrawled handwriting that adorned the noticeboard, Sam jumped slightly, startled to find a short, brunette girl that he'd glimpsed in that very hallway beaming back up at him, hand already seeking his.

"Hi! I'm Rachel Berry. I'm the Co-captain of the New Directions, and I can't believe I've gone a week without talking to you! We're always looking for new members; you should definitely check our club out. I mean, I'll probably be taking most of the solos this year, but I'm always looking for more backup singers!" Rachel grinned, eyes wide and focused on the equally wide-eyed blond as she grasped his hand, shaking with a force that defied her short stature. She was an intimidating presence, without necessarily meaning to be, but Rachel would have put that all down to confidence. She was a star in the making, and if others couldn't handle her glow, then they weren't worth her time.

Sam shook back, shrinking away slightly as if pushed back by the girl's persona. "Um, hi…I'm Sam Evans." He spoke gingerly, lips sucked inwards as he smiled slightly. "The New Directions? Is that like, the glee club? I've never really been in one before…I only ever sing like, in my room, or in the shower and stuff." He admitted, hand falling back into the pocket of his jeans.

Upon hearing Sam's admission, Rachel seemed to grow even larger, gasping happily as she thrust a piece of paper into the taller boy's hand; a bright pamphlet advertising the glee club Rachel was recruiting for. Well, she acted like she was recruiting. Rachel didn't approve of anyone taking away her spotlight, and upon hearing that Sam was seemingly no threat to her stardom, she only became more eager to recruit the new boy.

"Oh! Then you should definitely come and audition for us! You probably don't even have to sing a solo if you don't want to. I mean, Nationals are in New York this year!" She grinned once more, as if she could convince Sam to audition with just her smile alone.

Just as Sam was about to respond, a taller boy that Sam had seen Rachel with before came along, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as if to steer her away. "C'mon, Rachel. We're gonna be late for algebra, and then I'll have to sit next to Karofsky again." He grumbled, suddenly taking notice of Sam. "Oh, hey! New guy, right? Name's Finn Hudson." His voice was warm, yet lacked the over-eagerness of Rachel's greeting.

"Hey, man. I'm Sam. Sam Evans." Sam spoke, nodding as he smiled for a moment, still aware of Rachel's eyes fixed to his own; her smile ever-present. Sam was beginning to think it must be hurting her face. "Yeah, I just moved here."

Finn perked up slightly as he heard Sam's name, nodding back to the blond. "Oh! You're trying out for the football team, right? I'm the quarterback! I'll be there at your try-out tonight, man. I hope it goes awesome." He grinned, looking back at his companion, a sense of urgency lacing his voice. "C'mon, babe. I don't wanna be stuck in detention again. I mean, Mrs. Davis already hates me. How was I meant to know that was her car?" The two moved away - flashing Sam a goodbye smile as they did - and the boy set off once more for his next class, attention drifting between making sure he didn't crash into anyone else and checking out the glee club pamphlet he was clutching. His attention was peaked. That was for sure.

A couple of hours later, Sam was sure that his football try-out had gone as well as it could have gone. The coach, who Sam was surprised to find was a woman, had paired him with Noah Puckerman for an exercise to see how well he could function as a member of the team – the very same guy Sam had met in the hallways on his first day. Puck had been really cool, helping Sam to make an impression, even if he did manage to trip Sam up halfway through, the two falling in a tangle of limbs. Sam was sure he'd even spotted a grin forming on Puck's face as he rolled away, Sam quickly doing the same. His try-out was soon over and from the corner of his eye he'd seen Finn throw him a thumbs up. This all resulted in a very pleased Sam Evans, making his way to shower away the sweat and late October mud worked up over the course of his try-out.

Earlier that day, he'd told Rachel Berry that one of the only places he really sang was in the shower. What he didn't tell her was that he tended to sing quite loudly, really getting into the music under the hot spray of water, and that evening was no different. Sam, eyes closed and wet hair lathered with shampoo, danced around the shower cubicle, lost to the world as he sang his way through a rendition of _Just a Kiss_ by Lady Antebellum. Washing the soapy suds from the soaked strands of his blonde locks, Sam quickly finished up, drying and dressing quickly. His mind still swimming with the tune he'd been singing, Sam moved to exit the locker room. He turned a corner, bumping into someone else for the second time that day…though this person was very different to the last.

Sebastian Smythe smirked cockily down at the slightly shorter blond, dressed in a buttoned up blazer as he leaned against the wall. "Just a Kiss, huh? That's kind of boring. If it was me, I'd be in for much more than a kiss." Sebastian chortled, his voice low and breathy as he spoke, eyes fixed to Sam's, the corners of his lips slightly turned up.

Sam opened his mouth to reply, eyebrows knitting together as he frowned, slightly confused. But Sebastian was quicker, quickly interjecting. "I didn't figure you for a 'sing in the shower' kind of guy, but I can't say I minded too much. I'm always up for a private music video, especially if it's interactive." He finished his little speech with an obvious, almost lecherous glance down at Sam's crotch.

Unsure of how to reply, Sam scowled. "Dude. Were you…did you check me out in the shower? That's so wrong. Seriously." He was partly offended, partly irritated and yet partly flattered that Sebastian had been watching him. He was also slightly embarrassed, his cheeks flushing an almost un-noticeably different shade of crimson as he remembered how into the song he had been. Dancing and head banging around a seemingly-deserted shower cubicle weren't exactly the best ways to endear yourself upon new people, as Sam knew.

"What?" Sebastian asked, shrugg ing slightly. "You can't exactly blame me. A guy with abs like yours is naked five feet in front of you…how do you expect me to respond?" He laughed, winking down at the shorter blond. "Sebastian, by the way. Sebastian Smythe. I won't ask you to remember my name, seeing as though you'll more than likely be screaming it before too long." Sebastian laughed again, biting his bottom lip slightly as he gave Sam a long, hungry look once more. "I figured it was about time we met. I saw Rachel corner you in the hallway earlier. Careful, Evans, she'll probably start stalking you soon. Who knows what that nose can pick up? " He rolled his eyes, as if non-verbally reprimanding the subject of his snide remark.

Sam raised an eyebrow, his nose wrinkling slightly with distaste at Sebastian's words. Sure, he didn't know Rachel at all besides their little meeting, but the blond still didn't appreciate someone thinking they had the right to speak about someone else as so. He made an exaggerated move of pulling slightly at the straps of his backpack, intending to send a message to the taller boy that Sam was eager to leave. Sebastian didn't get the message at all, or just pretended not to. If Sam had known the boy, he would have recognised a slight glint in Sebastian's irises that pointed to the latter.

"Anyway…from the crazy look on her face…not that she doesn't always look like that, mind," Sebastian drawled, wrinkling his nose disgustedly, "she was trying to get you to join Glee club, huh? You know, that's not too bad a deal. You'd get to look at my face a lot more." He winked, smirking. "But I won't keep you too long." He checked his watch in a poignant effort to look bored. "Think about it, stud." Winking, he quickly left, leaving a slightly perplexed Sam in his wake. He took a moment to collect himself, a hand rising sub-consciously to brush a few golden strands of hair from his eyes as he began the walk through the essentially deserted hallways to the parking lot.

Sam sat at the dinner table of his home later that evening, in a world of his own as his mother bustled around preparing dinner and his two younger siblings bickered over something or other that Sam was paying no attention to. With Stacy and Stevie constantly around the house, the blond was used to ignoring their little squabbles. Dwight Evans looked up from the opposite side of the small table, calling his son's name, but Sam was too distracted to really hear. His eyes were drawn to the pamphlet Rachel had thrust into his hands, the idea of joining the glee club sounding more appealing to the boy each time he read through it.

Dwight reached forward to poke at his son's arm as Mary set the night's dinner on the table – pork chops. Sam jumped, looking up at his father as he set the pamphlet aside. "Sorry, Dad, what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything except your name." Dwight explained, slightly bemused, an eyebrow slightly elevated. "But what I was _going _to say was how did your football try-out go? That was today? At least, from how excited you were about it this morning." He grinned.

Mary reached forward, scowling as she swatted at Stevie's arm, the boy trying to take a piece of meat with his bare hands. "Use your fork, Stevie! You're old enough now to know your manners." She looked up, smiling at her eldest son. "Yeah, Sammy…how did you do? I bet you were great, huh?"

Sam shrugged, smiling as he tried not to seem too confident. "I think I was okay, mom. I hope I make the team. The coach was super happy with me, I think, and I met the dude who's the Captain today too, and he smiled at me afterwards…so…." He grinned, pleased to see his parents doing the same back as he reached over to high-five his father.

"That's great, Sam! Well done! We're proud of you, sweetie." Mary reached forward, doling out the slices of meat to each of the members of her family, her concentration still partly on Sam. Dwight nodded in response to her words as she did so, grin still present.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you destroy the other team at your first game. I can make some new friends out of the other dads and then watch you play better than all of _their _sons. Don't think I won't be there." He winked, smiling proudly. "Did anything else happen at school today?"

Sam reached forward, picking up the advertisement once more, eyes trained on the paper. "This girl, Rachel, gave me this. It's for glee club. I'm thinking of joining it…what do you think? Am I good enough for that?" He looked up at his mother, deciding that she would probably know more about the subject than his dad.

Mary smiled, finishing her task as she looked up at Sam. "I think you're a good singer! Why don't you go for it? I mean, if you don't like it after a while, you can always leave the club. You should get out there more, meet some new people." She smiled sweetly. Mary was conscious of how the move might affect her son, always suggesting new ways for him to get out there and make some new friends.

Sam nodded, looking over at his mother with a grin. "You know, I might do that…awesome!"

The next morning, Sam rushed to math, the school bell ringing sharply around him as he looked for a certain individual. He caught up to Blaine just as he was about to enter the classroom, calling the shorter boy's name and almost crashing into him in an effort to stop.

"Whoa, Sam! What's up?" Blaine asked, eyes wide as he held his hands up in front of him, one moving to grip the black strap of his satchel bag when he saw that Sam wasn't going to collide with him. "Is something wrong?"

Sam flicked his hair from his forehead as he grinned, shaking his head. "Sorry, dude. But no! I actually wondered if I could like, borrow you for a little help. I need to find an awesome song for my glee club audition…I saw that your name was on the list when I signed up." He smiled excitedly. "So…are you my guy, dude? It'd be like, major super awesome of you…" Sam turned his head slightly, eyebrows high as he slowly leaned toward the shorter boy, hoping for a positive answer.

Blaine laughed, nodding slowly. "You know, Sam…I've got just the song…" He raised his hand, high-fiving the blond as he scooted closer, mirroring Sam's movement as he began relaying his idea in a quiet whisper.


End file.
